Visit aglaia.co.in English: An exhaust plume surrounds the mobile launcher platform on Launch Pad 39A , Kennedy Space Center, Fla., as space shuttle Atlantis lifts off on the STS-132 mission on May 14. STS-132 is the 132nd shuttle flight, the 32nd for Atlantis and the 34th shuttle mission dedicated to International Space Station assembly and maintenance. (NASA) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Suman Relan

NASA said it has given the go ahead for the first private spacecraft to proceed toward a rendezvous with the International Space Station on Friday.

The unmanned SpaceX Dragon that launched Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, has successfully completed all tests so far in preparation for a docking, the space agency said.

Tuesday’s launch marked the culmination of six years of preparation to bring commercial flights to the space station after the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet last year. It’s backed by entrepreneur Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal.

Cremated human remains were placed in the second stage of the Falcon and will orbit the Earth. Celestis Inc. charges families $2,995 to launch 1 gram of remains in this type of memorial spaceflight.